First Fresh Pick Favorites of 2009

I hope everyone enjoyed time with family and friends this past holiday season. Unfortunately, it had to end and we find ourselves in the middle of January already. Luckily we have Fresh Picks to save us. I need to apologize to everyone for not staying on top of the Favorite Fresh Picks posts. I am very excited to see how much everyone is using the fresh pick comments. Now all we need are more images of our customers’ work to get uploaded in the Fresh Pick comments – we love seeing the creativity!

These are the most visited Fresh Picks from the past 2 weeks:

• Snowflakes Like Butterflys by CAS
• Turquoise Smoke by Peggy A
• Snowflake Lace by AnnMarie H
• Gingko [my cat] by A Golke
• New Space by JewelsbyJill 
• BytheLightoftheSilveryMoon by Debbi C
• Shades of Montana Winter by KarenDe H
• Turtle Crossing by Sandy S
• Year of the Ox by Cuban Queen
• Copper Rose by Gretchen S

Here’s my take on the top 3 most visited Fresh Picks:

Snowflakes Like Butterflys by CAS

Snowflakes Like Butterflys – So serene and peaceful.  I agree, this is perfect for a winter bride. I love the Vintaj and Stampt Antique Gold used in the pick.  They really complement the cream and champagne tones chosen. Oregon Snakeskin is one of my favorite stones . . . I feel like it is sometimes overlooked because of its muted complexion.  Great job CAS!

Turquoise Smoke by Peggy A

Turquoise Smoke – Oh my!  The Amazonite freeform flat drops and the blue opal nuggets that Peggy A chose are in my top 20 stones that I love (sounds like a great idea for another post).

I like the texture of the copper and the magnesite as well in addition to all the other stones that were picked.  Really pretty work Peggy A!

Snowflake Lace by AnnMarie H

Snowflake Lace – As much as I try to put winter out of my mind, I can’t and I have a feeling that you probably can’t either. Winter and snow are here to stay. This pick, much like CAS’ Snowflakes Like Butterflys gives me a feeling of calm and it’s also great for a winter bride. The use of black sunstone, new silver leaf, hematite and pewter gives this pick an additional smoky sort of vintage quality. Love the touch of soft pink color through the itasy jasper and the kunzite.  Given 3 words to describe this pick, I would say – delicate, smoky, serene. Great job Ann Marie H!

I am loving the energy around fresh picks lately. There has been an increase in creativity as evidenced by the number of you making picks and the sheer number of picks being created. The comments on the picks themselves are great, lots of talking back and forth. A new concept of creating picks that has just come to our attention is from A Golke.  She created a self-portrait fresh pick. Great idea!  In an effort to learn more about each other’s tastes and personalities, we think all of the Fresh Pickers out there should create a self-portrait fresh pick. Name it whatever you want and be sure to use the new “description” feature to tell us why those particular beads best represent YOU!